Tug of War is Ward's Favorite Game
by Selene Illusinia
Summary: [Dog Love] Skye walks in on Ward playing tug of war in an unusual way.


There were many, many things in the Playground that Skye had never expected to see in her life. There were just as many things she'd seen with SHIELD she'd never expected to see. And there were just as many she'd never wanted to see. Hell, just last week she'd gone into Phil's office to find him and May in some position she was pretty sure violated the laws of physics. That had been one of the 'she never wanted to see' (read: mentally scarring/traumatizing) things. The scene in front of her now wouldn't require brain-bleach, but it was outside the realm of normal all the same.

Normal, of course, being something you'd see walking down the street or visiting a friend's home.

This wasn't something she imagined she'd ever see walking into any home that didn't belong to her boyfriend.

On his hands and knees, Grant Ward was crouched in the middle of their room with Bud, the large chocolate lab he'd rescued. They were playing tug of war (a perfectly normal game one plays with dogs and one that both Bud and Ward seemed obsessed over) with Bud tugging on one end of the rope and making little vicious doggy sounds every now and then. That part was normal. What wasn't normal was the way Ward was gripping the other end of the rope. Namely, that he was gripping it firmly with his teeth.

Ward was playing tug of war like a dog: with the rope in his mouth.

For a moment, Skye couldn't do much more than stare as she watched the two play and tried to understand what was going on. Well, more like she was trying to understand how Ward had ended up with the rope in his mouth. "Uh, Ward?"

The former specialist lifted his head sharply, blinking up at Skye like he hadn't been expecting her to walk into their room. Then again, he probably wasn't this early. He was probably expecting more time or a warning before she came back to their room for the night. It wasn't uncommon for her to be gone for most of the day in the security center or the gym trying to keep up both sides of her secret agent life.

"Hey Skye," greeted Ward wearily around the rope, not releasing it from his mouth. She actually wondered if he realized it was still there. If he didn't, the sharp tug on the rope courtesy of Bud reminded him. Clearly, the dog wasn't happy their game had been interrupted. However, Ward just released the rope, sitting up awkwardly. Bud barked unhappily beside him, shaking the rope a bit before dropping it in Ward's lap with a bark. Blindly, Ward's hand rose to rub Bud's head in response. "What's up?"

"I got through that stuff for AC early," explained Skye slowly, eying the rope. "Having fun playing with Bud?"

"Yeah, just hanging out," confirmed Ward, unease still clearly present on his face. Bud whined again, butting his head against Ward's side in objection to their game ending.

It was enough to make Skye laugh. Ward had his ticks and this included his near obsession with dogs. If he wanted to play tug of war with Bud like a dog, she really only had one thing to say. "Alright, well have fun. I'm gonna grab my computer and go harass Trip. Just make sure you brush your teeth before you kiss me again if that rope's been in your mouth."

Ward blinked up at her in surprise, glancing over at Bud like the dog might somehow know what was happening. Said dog just wagged his tail and picked up his discarded rope toy hopefully. Apparently deciding the canine would be no help what so ever, Ward refocused on Skye. "Alright?"

Smiling, Skye crossed the room to grab her computer, pausing only to quickly kiss the top of Ward's head (she wasn't kissing his lips with that rope having been in his mouth until he brushed his teeth. "Good boy."

Ward made a face at her choice of words, but Bud shoved his rope back at Ward before the man could respond or retaliate. It gave Skye the opportunity to escape. The fact that her boyfriend put his dog's rope in his mouth was strange, but if it brought a smile to his face, Skye would let it slide. She was going to buy a box of tooth brushes the next time she was out though. Ward was going to need them.


End file.
